# Lighter Problems?



## n2advnture (Aug 9, 2004)

Just thought I'd give my tips on fixing lighter problems.

IMHO 90% of the problems that occur with lighters are because of the quality of the butane that is being used. (The most common symptom is sputtering)

The reason is that butane contains impurities that cause clogging in the ignitor of the lighter. These impurities can be filtered out during the refining process. (That's why I have chosen to carry Vector butane - it's also the cheapest per volume is the most consistantly available.)

The MINIMUM number of refinings you should use is "Triple Refined" but the Vector is refined 5x and the Lava is 5x refined. These two are by far the cleanest and best fuels that you can use.

The other most common problem with lighters is having air trapped in the fuel chamber. Most lighters come with instructions on how to "purge" the lighter. That's what it's referring to.

These are simple things to do to tell if the lighter can be repaired or not.
Here are just a few; 

1. Bleed the lighter until it's total empty. Make sure the valve is pointing down. (Do not attempt this while the flame is lit). You have to shake the lighter as you bleed the valve. 
And may have to repeat many times before it's completely empty.

2. Refill with a MIN. of triple refined butane. This may take two or three shots to totally fill it. Wait several minutes for the butane to come up to room temperature. This is fairly important as cold butane will not ignite.

3. Turn your flame level to the (-) sign on your lighter prior to lighting. I have noticed that after refilling the adjustment is out of whack. So after every refill turn it down and gradually adjust it to the desired level. Many times this is why a lighter doesn't work properly after a refill as well. (Also, generally as your lighter gets low on butane you have to adjust the level higher)

4. Make sure you have a spark. If you have a soft flame (ie flint) the obvious solution would be to replace the flint. If you have a torch lighter, you should see the spark coming from a small wire inside the lighter. If there is not spark, there may be lint from your pocket. Use some compressed air in short spurts to clear it out (try to avoid blowing in it if possible, you usually get small amount of spit on the ignitor which will also prevent a spark).

5. If you are using a flint (soft flame) style lighter and still don't have a flame make sure your burners are clean. Sometimes they get built up with tar from cigars and burning gas residue. You can use a TINY amount of distilled water on a q-tip or a small wire brush to clean them. Be VERY gentle and make sure it's dry before trying to ignite.

If all else fails, use a match! Just make sure you let it burn for a couple of seconds before lighting your cigar with it as the sulfur from the match impart a funky taste into your stick!

So there you have it...who the hell knew I would ever learn so much about lighters. LOL! Certainly not me.

Happy smoking my friends and hope this helps!

~Mark


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## Baric (Jun 14, 2006)

Great thread Mark - this should be a sticky for people with Colibris lol!


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## HarryCulo (Aug 18, 2006)

n2advnture said:


> Just thought I'd give my tips on fixing lighter problems.
> 
> .......
> 1. Bleed the lighter until it's total empty. Make sure the valve is pointing down. (Do not attempt this while the flame is lit). You have to shake the lighter as you bleed the valve.
> ...


Have you been watching me?? Wealth of information, Mark. Thanks!!


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## n2advnture (Aug 9, 2004)

People seem to be digging these threads as well, in case you're interested.

Smoking in your car
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33483&highlight=refining

Refining Your Palette
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33480&highlight=refining

Lighter Problems?
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33486&highlight=lighter

Buying A Humidor - A Basic Buying Guide
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33488

Have a great weekend you all!

~Mark


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

Thanks for the post, Mark. I just had my Prince repaired by Germantown Rob. It was clogged. So I went out and bought some Vector. Hopefully this will keep it from happening again. I love my torch:w


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2006)

Yep, dittos, Mark, on the filtered quality of the fuel.

I ruined several lighter as a noob by using the fuel purchased at the grocery store!! Luckily, they were cheap lighters, but they clog just as easily as expensive lighters. I have a couple of cans of 5x filtered butane I picked up at my local B & M, for an amazing $4. 4 times the volume as the expensive bottles of 3x filtered Colibri fuel I was using, and haven't had a lighter clog since!


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## OilMan (May 12, 2006)

thats a great post. I read every word. Thank you


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## designwise1 (Aug 17, 2006)

I'm a Zippo man who is learning to use a Colibri torch. The only other thing I can add is that I've learned to barely press the igniter switch (or whatever it's called) until I hear the hiss - then press it all the way down. I have clicked and clicked the %#[email protected]! thing and it wouldn't light until I learned to listen for the hiss *first*, instead of just plunging it all the way quickly. 
Slow down... :w


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## n2advnture (Aug 9, 2004)

Thanks for the kinds words, I am glad you dig it!

~Mark


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## RockyP (Aug 31, 2006)

i use some cheap butane. but i find that if you completely empty out all the gas inside the lighter before you refill it you avoid air bubbles in the tank that causes ignition problems


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## dunng (Jul 14, 2006)

Awsome post Mark! Thanks and here's a Bump...


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## Aaron (Nov 28, 2005)

Any tips for altitude? I had a Z-Plus that wouldn't light in the Sequoias last summer.


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## Headcrash (Sep 7, 2006)

Mark has so many great posts on here....every newb should read them all....I know I learned a lot for reading them


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